Astrophotography Filters

After almost a decade of taking pictures of space with a DSLR camera, I have come to the realization that a DSLR Ha filter is the quite possibly the most important astrophotography filter in your kit. Traditional light pollution filters designed to help you photograph deep sky objects in broadband (true-color) are useful, but a hydrogen-alpha filter makes the single greatest impact on your astrophotography overall. Beginners often ask me which narrowband filter (line filter) I recommend to buy first, and it's always an Ha (or "Hα") filter. H-alpha is a specific deep-red visible spectral li…

In this post, I'll share my results using the Optolong L-eNhance filter for deep sky astrophotography in the city. The L-eNhance is a dual band pass filter that ignores artificial light, yet collects a strong signal emitted by certain nebulae. This light pollution filter was designed for color cameras, whether it's a DSLR (a modified camera is best) or a one-shot-color dedicated astronomy camera like the one used (ASI294MC Pro) for the images in this post. As many of you know, I mostly shoot from the city. I love to travel to dark sky locations, but imaging from home is a lot more practi…

I’ve recently had a chance to review the Optolong L-Pro filter (2 types) for astrophotography from my light polluted backyard in the city. Unlike many of the filters I used in the past, the L-Pro is suitable for both stock and astro-modified DSLR cameras. (It includes a UV/IR block). I've always had trouble collecting images with an accurate representation of star color when imaging from the city. It's something I spend a lot of time correcting during the image-processing stage of my projects. My hope is that the Optolong L-Pro filter lives up to its description of allowing more starlight…

If you’ve been following AstroBackyard on YouTube, you’ll know that I regularly shoot DSLR astrophotography images under the heavily light polluted skies at home. My night sky is classified as Bortle Class 8 in terms of sky quality, a white zone on the light pollution map. This certainly makes things more difficult in terms of collecting data and image processing, but I welcome the challenge. It’s true, there is no substitute for dark skies. But being able to set up a portable astrophotography kit in the backyard on a weeknight is pretty cool. I don't have to pack up heavy gear i…

One of the most common questions I receive each day is which light pollution filter I recommend for astrophotography in the city. There have never been so many choices available, with each one offering their own advantages and disadvantages. Couple that with the fact that these astrophotography filters can be expensive, and you've got some tough decisions to make. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to use a number of filters designed to improve astrophotography performance. This includes both deep-sky camera and telescope configurations, and with wide-angle ca…